Wednesday, January 27, 2010

AMON DUUL II - PHALLUS DEI 1969

"Kanaan" starts the album wonderfully, a melange of rumbling rock power, strings and sitars, Lothar Meid's almost Bowie-ish vocals with Renate Knaup's wordless chanting in the background, that's just as intoxicating many years after its first appearance as it was upon release. The slightly jazzy concluding minute avoids sounding forced, blending in beautifully with the song's general flow. "Dem Guten, Schoenen, Wahren" takes a truly wacked-out turn, with Meid's bizarre falsetto coming to the fore, swooping around the main melodies without regard for them in yelps and chants, while the music chugs along in what almost sounds like a beer-hall singalong at points, taking a more haunting, beautiful turn at others (the heavily produced violins are an especially spooky touch). "Luzifers Ghilom" brings out the psych-folk origins of the band a bit more with Shrat's bongos, while the rest of the band pulls off a nicely heroic rock piece that never sounds too inflated or stupid, with appropriately nutty vocal breaks and interjections along the way -- the sublime and the ridiculous never sounded so good together. "Henriette Krotenschwanz" ends the first side with a brief choral military march (if you will). The title track takes up the remainder of the album, a complex piece which never loses a sense of fun while always staying musically compelling. After a quiet start, the opening minutes consist of a variety of drones and noises constantly brought up and down in the mix, leading to a full band performance that builds and skips along with restrained fuzz power. Everything builds to a sudden climax halfway through, where all the members play a series of melodies in unison, while drums pound in the background. After a quick violin solo, everything settles into a fine percussion jam, with the full band kicking in shortly thereafter. With Karrer's crazed vocals showing where Mark E. Smith got some good ideas from, Phallus gets the Düül II career off to a flying start. ~ Ned Raggett, All Music Guide

Tracks :

1. Kanaan
2. Dem Guten, Sch?nen, Wahren (German)
3. Luzifers Ghilom
4. Henriette Kr?tenschwanz (German)
5. Phallus Dei
6. Freak Out Requiem I (previously unreleased)
7. Freak Out Requiem II (previously unreleased)
8. Freak Out Requiem III (previously unreleased)
9. Freak Out Requiem IV (previously unreleased)
10. Cymbals in the End

Sunday, January 24, 2010

JOHN PORTER - MAGIC MOMENTS 1982

John Porter-1982-Magic Moments (acoustic Live)..

One of the few "rock" records sold in music stores for pre-perestroika country ...
One musician ... one guitar ... one magic!

John Porter - an Englishman, of Polish descent, was born August 15, 1950 in Lichfield, Wales (do not confuse it with another Englishman, John Porter of English descent, born in 1947, guitarist and producer of Roxy Music ... and other groups).In the late seventies he returned to their historical homeland, created the group John Porter Band and deservedly become the pride of all Poles.And the musical material of the plate corresponds to the name - truly magical moments!






Side A
01 Caravana lover
02 Too much trouble
03 Magic moment
04 Not standing, not dancing
Side B
05 Still in Warsaw
06 Faces and waves
07 Stoned livin'
08 I'm just a singer

All compositions and lyrics by John Porter
Concert recorded at "Teatr STU" Krakow 16-17 november 1982

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

SUNI McGRATH - THE CALL OF THE MOURNING DOVE 1971

"Biography of Suni McGrath . . .1956 Suni starts guitar, including lessons . . . 1960 Gives first performance at talent show, about 300 in audience As a pioneer of fingerpicking, he begins to create the fingerpicking style . . . 1961 One of the first 12 string solo artists, WYSO radio has Suni McGrath play his fingerpicked solo 12 string on radio at Antioch College where he becomes friends with Ian Buchanan and others at “the Bakery” . . . 1962 In Detroit, McGrath is asked by Detroit Folklore Society to give first concert on his 12 string Gibson. Many in 2005 still remember this . . . 1963, He takes lessons with Rev. Gary Davis and Mississippi John Hurt. A record scout. hears Suni McGrath at Newport, R.I. Festival where he came up from Greenwich Village his regular playing area, and signs him to first recording contract on the Piedmont label, Mississippi John Hurt’s label . . . 1965 Suni invents, far-out odd-time rhythms fingerpicking results in tape sent to Folkways Records . . . 1968 Suni McGrath, rediscovered by new and different label, taken to east coast to record first issued album . . . 1971 He records the earliest version of the Celtic/Irish/modal (he is Irish ! ) “The Star of County Down”, . . . 1972 Suni McGrath’s records fantastically reviewed in many magazines, newspapers, and played on many radio stations nationwide. Nominee for “Guitarist of the Year” for his three albums: Cornflower Suite, The Call of the Mourning Dove, and Childgrove . . . 2001 McGrath is shown to his surprise, to be on the WWW Internet,~27 entries, among others,WFMU radio in New York often and repeatedly plays his work including his 12 minute symphonic masterpiece, “Cornflower Suite”, the Renaisance/classical style “Love Abides”, also, the earliest version of the Celtic/Irish/modal “The Star of County Down”, and the world famous flower power ‘60s style piece:“On the Riverpath She Waited” . . . 2005 Suni McGrath’s track called “Train Z” gets great reviews from critics and magazines such as BILLBOARD and MoJo (England). His 45 rpm “Seven Stars” does also." Washburn Website ~

Tracks :

- Tis So Sweet To Trust In Jesus
(L. Stead / W. Kirkpatrick; p.d. - arr. McGrath)
- In The Carriage House (McGrath)
- He Led Me Out Of The Darkness (McGrath)
- Kyrie (trad. arr. McGrath)
- The Call Of The Mourning Dove (McGrath)

- Ripe Figs (McGrath)
- The King Is Coming (McGrath)
- Hallelujah, I Belong To The Band (Gary Davis, arr. McGrath)
- Verbum Patris-Sanctus, Benedictus (trad. arr. McGrath)
- On The Riverpath She Waited (McGrath)

Monday, January 11, 2010

ANTHONY PHILLIPS - PRIVATE PARTS & PIECES PART V " TWELVE" 1985

Twelve is the first album with a unifying concept for Anthony Phillips' Private Parts Pieces series, and largely follows the intimate, non-retrospective precedent set by third album Antiques, with Ant constraining himself to one instrument throughout the album and recording thepieces in one period during 1984. Contrary to what one might expect, Twelve is also one of the least accessible albums of this series. Each of the moderately lengthy compositions is played on an acoustic twelve-string guitar, which limits the album's potential for different sounds and textures that might juggle the listener's attention. Despite this constraint, it is to his credit that Phillips really demonstrates a mastery of the instrument by exploiting all the possible sounds you can get out of it in a way that might have made Michael Hedges proud: finger tapping, harmonics, picking near the bridge to create a tinny timbre, etc...

Anthony Edwin "Ant" Phillips (b. 23 December 1951, Chiswick, West London) is an English musician, best known as a founding member of the band Genesis. He played guitar and sang backing vocals until leaving in 1970, following the recording of their second album, Trespass. He left due to suffering from stage fright, after being told by his doctor that the best thing would be to leave the band. He is known for his twelve string guitar work, and his influence can be heard throughout Genesis's early output.

Genesis's first album after Phillips's departure, Nursery Cryme, featured two songs which were holdovers from the days when Phillips was in the band: "The Musical Box" (originally called F#) and "The Fountain Of Salmacis." "The Musical Box" especially remains a favourite of fans, but few recognise Phillips's contribution to the composition.

After leaving Genesis, Phillips studied classical music (especially classical guitar) and made recordings in collaboration with Harry Williamson, Mike Rutherford and Phil Collins, among others. His first solo album, The Geese and the Ghost, was issued in 1977.

Phillips released his second album in 1978, entitled Wise After the Event. This was followed the next year by Sides. Both of these albums were produced by Rupert Hine and were intended to reach a mainstream audience, though neither album was successful in that regard.

In its initial release in the UK, Sides was accompanied by a more experimental album entitled Private Parts and Pieces; in the U.S. and Canada the two albums were issued separately. Private Parts and Pieces II: Back to the Pavilion followed the next year, and several further sequels were issued in the 1980s and 1990s.

Phillips began writing material with Andrew Latimer of Camel in 1981, and was a featured performer on that band's album, The Single Factor (released in 1982).

Phillips released a mainstream pop album entitled Invisible Men in 1983. He later claimed that this project went "horribly wrong" as a result of commercial pressures, and would subsequently eschew mainstream success in favour of more specialised material.

Phillips remains involved in a variety of musical projects, including extensive soundtrack work in England. In the mid-1990s, he released an album entitled The Living Room Concert, which featured solo acoustic versions of his earlier material. He also provided archival material for the first Genesis box set, Genesis Archive 1967-75, released in 1998.



Tracks :

01. January
02. February
03. March
04. April
05. May
06. June
07. July
08. August
09. September
10. October
11. November
12. December

Thursday, January 7, 2010

NEVERNE BEBE II 1997

The band was formed in 1993 by former Nova Zemlja, Smak and Frenki keyboardist Milan Đurđević. The first lineup featured bass guitarist Vladan Đurđević, guitarist Bane Jelić (a former Viktorija guitarist), drummer Čeda Macura and vocalist Billy King. The band had its first performance on April 4, 1993 in Belgrade. Band's debut album Neverne Bebe I was released in 1994. Album featured hits "Veliki je Bog" and "1000 godina". Neverne Bebe I also featured a cover of Smak song "Daire" and Smak guitarist Radomir Mihajlović Točak made a guest appearance on the album.
After the success of the first album Macura and Jelić left the band. Guitarist Saša Ranđelović, drummer Dušan Šubarević and female vocalist Gorica Ponjavić became band's new members. This lineup held its first concert in Podgorica on May 25, 1994. In 1996 the band started recording their second studio album. At the end of 1996 Billy King left the band, and was replaced by Aleksandar Tasić and in August 1997 Šubarević left the band and was replaced by Goran Marinković. Neverne Bebe II was released in 1997, featuring hits "Godine srama", "Divlje svinje", "Stranac" and band's cult ballad "Dvoje".
In 2001 the band released album Neverne Bebe III - Južno od sreće (Unfaithful Babies III - Southern from Happiness). Album featured hits "Ljubav", "Balkan", "Gotovo".
In 2003 vocalists Gorica Ponjavić and Aleksandar Tasić and drummer Goran Marinković left the band, and two female singers, Jelena Pudar and Jana Šušteršič and drummer Duca Ivanišević joined the band. This lineup held its first concert in Herceg Novi. In 2004 the band released album Dvoje - Best Of (Couple - Best Of) which featured re-recorded Neverene Bebe hits and two new songs.
In 2005 Ivanišević was replaced by Vladimir Ružičić. In 2006 the band performed as the opening band on the Toto concert in Belgrade's Тašmajdan Stadium and started recording its fifth album. ...Iza oblaka (...Beyond the Clouds) was released in 2007. Album featured ballad "Boje duge" recorded with former Parni Valjak frontman Aki Rahimovski.
Tracks :
1. Stranac
2. Dvoje
3. Boja sreće
4. Divlje svinje
5. Godine srama
6. Evropa
7. Gradac (instrumental)
8. Kao na dlanu
9. Senke
10. To bluebird
11. 7 minuta za nas ( instrumental )



 
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